Practical Philosophy

What constitutes a good life? What can we legitimately expect from each other? Which institutions are just? Philosophy has always contributed to finding reasonable answers to such questions. The profound changes to our living conditions in the modern age have once again significantly expanded the list of questions. To name just a few examples: how should we take account of the uncertain consequences of technology? To what extent are we responsible for citizens of other countries who live in extreme poverty? Are we allowed to change the genetic make-up of plants, animals or humans? What rules should be applied to communication in social networks? In the form of normative ethics, practical philosophy strives to find answers to questions such as these. Metaethics, philosophical action theory and other sub-disciplines of practical philosophy contribute to the methodological clarification of the prerequisites for these efforts.

Teaching in the field of practical philosophy in Greifswald encompasses a broad spectrum of relevant topics, in part thanks to cross-faculty cooperation. Compulsory modules on the fundamentals of normative ethics, the relevant classics and metaethics are supplemented by alternating (compulsory) elective modules on various issues of technology, business, media, environmental and bioethics, political philosophy, philosophy of law and theory of action.

Research focuses on methodological questions of applied ethics, minimum ethical standards, approaches to responsibility and care ethics, specific topics of economic and technological ethics, as well as bioethics and questions of metaethics, particularly with regard to constructivist (neo-Kantian) and naturalistic approaches.